


The Path of History and Hereafter

by thetransgirlwhoneverwas



Series: Fictober 2020 [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26917801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetransgirlwhoneverwas/pseuds/thetransgirlwhoneverwas
Summary: The greatest hope the galaxy has seen is dead, and Rey is wondering how she can possibly carry on that hope. A visit from an unexpected source may help rekindle her spirit.
Series: Fictober 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952200
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Path of History and Hereafter

Rey, who had no last name, laid her hand on the ground beside her and reached out to the world. She pushed out with her feelings, and the world pushed back. The grass pushed against her, and the creatures and insects beneath the grass, followed by the trees, and the animals that made their homes inside the trees, and in turn the sky, and the birds that flew across the sky, and in the distance the ocean, and the unknown beings that lived in the abyss of the deepest ocean. The world pushed against her, and she recognised every part of it.

She focused her thoughts on one part of the world, one tiny speck of the planet that spoke to her. The boulder in front of her pushed back against her. She felt the Force, around her, around the boulder, between them and inside them, tying her to the boulder and the boulder to her as one, part of each other, part of the planet, part of the Force. She asked the Force to lift the boulder, entreated the planet to move for her. The boulder raised itself from the ground, slowly, gently leaving the grass and revealing the creatures who had made their homes in the dark and the cold underneath it. She raised the boulder with the Force, and the boulder was part of her.

A face flashed in her mind. An old, wizened man, once so full of hope, but old enough to have seen that hope crushed. A woman then, full of experience and pride in the family she had made. Another face, just as old but still full of adventure and fighting spirit. Then she saw all three faces twisted in pain as they faded and were replaced by another face, younger but full of so much anger, so much hatred, but this one was only half formed, the other half taken up by a deep black mask and glowing red eye.

The boulder started to fall. She reached out to grasp it, to save the insects underneath, but the boulder was no longer a part of her. She could no longer feel the world pushing back, the Force was no longer listening to her cries, and the boulder fell. She lashed out, begging the Force to save the poor creatures she had put in harm’s way and the boulder flew, launched by an unseen power away. It crashed through a tree and out of sight, and the tree lurched, toppled, and fell without a base to support it. It hit another home and toppled to the side, the peace of the forest disturbed by the crashing force of Rey’s error, the birds and the animals and the insects fleeing from the sudden commotion.

“I’m sorry...” Rey whispered to them, even though she knew they would not understand her. The face flickered in her mind again. That man, full of rage and spite and a desire to hurt.

“Ugh!” she said, louder, but again to nobody. “Is it pointless?”

“Pointless?” asked a voice behind her, and Rey so desperately needed to talk to someone that she didn’t even stop to question who the voice belonged to.

“Luke, Han, Leia, they destroyed the Emperor, defeated an entire Empire and brought peace and freedom to the whole galaxy, and still Kylo Ren was able to beat them,” Rey vented her frustrations by finding a much smaller stone and throwing it away from her, her strength carrying it far, and her anger channelling the Force to carry it much farther. “How can I stand up to someone who can destroy hope in someone whose hope changed the whole galaxy? I can’t ever give up, I won’t let myself, not after all that they gave to let me be here to fight for them. But how can I ever win this fight? What kind of power can defeat that kind of hatred? That much despair?”

“Hmm,” the voice hummed, not in agreement but in understanding, a voice steeped in wisdom and experience. “I do understand. There is plenty of evil done in his name, and it can be overwhelming. I’ve seen this before, as has much of the galaxy. But do you truly believe that evil can defeat hope?”

“It has so far,” Rey despaired. “Luke is dead. Han is dead. Leia is doing what she can, but she’s only one person and she has an army to lead. If even Luke couldn’t stand against Kylo Ren, what hope do I have? I tried to follow in his footsteps, I truly did. I tried to make Kylo see the light, come back to us. Should I try again? Is there anything else I can do?”

“Vader did what he did because he felt he had no choice,” the voice said, a measured tone speaking of decades of knowledge. “I do not wish to defend his evil, I witnessed enough of it to know that there is no defence. But by the time Vader realised what he was doing was wrong, he was in so deep there was nowhere to go but further into the dark.”

“Isn’t it the same for Kylo?” Rey asked. “Snoke had been manipulating him his entire life.”

“Snoke is dead, is he not?” the voice countered. “Kylo has nothing holding him to Snoke’s way anymore except his own desires.”

“But it’s his own desires that continue to lead him to darkness,” Rey protested.

“Indeed, it would seem so,” the voice confirmed, a sadness creeping into it.

“Then there is no hope,” Rey sighed. “He is too powerful to fight, and if what you say is true, he cannot be redeemed. What hope is there?”

“Do you truly believe there is no hope?” the voice asked. “Luke’s hope was able to redeem even the deepest of despair. Leia brought a broken galaxy together and created something to hope for. And Han was able to inspire the next generation to keep that hope going. Is that not worth hoping for? Is that not worth fighting for?”

“Of course it’s worth fighting for, and I will fight with all the strength I can muster. But what strength do I have to fight?” Rey responded. “I’m nobody. I’m just a lost girl from a desert.”

“Just as there once was a farm boy from a desert,” the voice said. “Who met a foolish old man and went on a doomed mission to a dead planet. And then he destroyed an Empire.”

“I’m not sure he would like you calling his master foolish,” Rey chuckled. “He destroyed an Empire by redeeming Vader. I wasn’t strong enough to redeem Kylo.”

“Ah, but what is more foolish than clinging to an old way?” the voice mused. “There is no greater fool than she who strays from the path forward for fear of forgetting the path already behind her.”

“Hold on,” Rey protested. “I don’t see “a path forward”, I wouldn’t even know if I was “straying from it” as you say.”

“Indeed, for you are too focused on the path behind you,” the voice advised. “It is important to learn from the past, yes, vital even, but not at the expense of the future. History may be set in stone, but stones do not move unless carried. Let go of the stone you are holding onto, Rey. Find the path forward.”

“You’re saying there may be another way?” Rey asked. “Another solution?”

“My time in this conflict has been over for a long time,” the voice admitted. “But I have seen battles of the light and dark more times than I can count. Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them, that much is true. But those who do not apply that knowledge to the future cannot move forward, and are forever held in place.”

“I...I understand,” Rey said. “I...thank you. I think I needed to hear that.”

“My pleasure, young Rey,” the voice moved from behind her, glided past as he spoke, and continued to walk away. “Hope springs eternal. The light always rises to meet the dark. Now rise and take your next steps.”

Rey took a deep breath and felt the world breathe with her. The grass swayed with her breath, the trees stood with her resolve, the oceans swam with her thoughts, and the sky soared with renewed hope. Finally, she opened her eyes and stood up to see the man she spoke to, but saw nobody but a fading blue outline in the distance. She squinted, but couldn’t make out who it was, no matter how hard she looked.

So instead, Rey, who had no last name, sat down again, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. She reached out with her feelings and pushed against the fading presence in front of her, and for just a second she felt him push back.

“I…” Rey trailed off, then smiled to herself. “Thank you for your guidance and wisdom, Master Kenobi.”

Rey smiled, and the world smiled with her. The last remnants of the presence smiled back, and the Force smiled with him.


End file.
